Gone Tonight: A Novel

I think I've read all the books that Sarah Pekkanen and Greer Hendricks have written together - and enjoyed them all to varying degrees - but this was the first one I'd seen with just one of the authors so I was pretty excited to give it a shot.

I loved the premise and figured there was some unreliable narrator stuff happening. What I didn't expect was the tremendous amount of unnecessary details (filling a water pitcher, how a character stepped on a floor and the condition of the floor, and so, so, so many more) that dragged the story to a snail's pace at times. I also didn't expect plot devices that stretched my ability to suspend disbelief to the breaking point. Then there were the explanations of the plot devices and clues and consequences of actions that were so detailed it felt like the author was doing the "explain it like I'm five" thing. It seemed as though she wants the reader to know that she really thought all the possibilities out, just like we're doing, and why something would or wouldn't work. As if her editing notes were out and she was working a checklist of reasons a plan should be considered as viable.

As for the characters, I felt for Ruth. She did what she needed to do with the knowledge and resources she had. Catherine, well, I'm not sure how I felt about her. Not as positively as I did her mom, that's for sure. Her choices - particularly those in the third part of the book - were unbelievable and, well, some were ridiculous. I can't go into any detail here because of spoilers but there was a lot of head shaking and talking back to the narrator in that last part of the book.

I think maybe my expectations were just too high.

There were good things about the book, of course. The action scenes were, for the most part, exciting and satisfying. There were some interesting bits about certain mental health aspects that were fun to speculate about. And I really liked Ruth. Kate Mara was also a fine narrator. All of which give me a "I liked it" 3-star rating.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the audiobook!

Catherine and her mother, Ruth, have always been a duo. It's always just been the two of them for as long as Catherine can remember. Catherine is on the verge of getting her nursing degree and moving away to start her new life, but her mother wants anything but that. Especially in the area Catherine's planning to move to. In her quest to keep her daughter close, Ruth inevitably makes Catherine start asking questions about her past... and that's not a road Ruth wants to go down. Once Catherine starts connecting the dots and catching pieces of her mother's lies, their lives could change forever.
 
Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen was a really good mystery/thriller. The ending was very unpredictable and those are the best kind! SO many twists and turns, as soon as you think you have it figured out. NOPE. The rug is ripped right out from under you.

thank you netgalley for the advanced readers copy! I've loved this author so i was hoping this would be a good one! it really hooked me in about halfway through and i couldn't put it down! I was not expecting that ending either! great read!

So, I’ve come to notice one thing when I read books that this author contributes to: I prefer the books when they are written solely by her and not teamed with someone else. This is the first solo book of hers I’ve read, and I enjoyed it immensely. The readers start off meeting Catherine and her mom Ruth. This book alternated P.O.V.s and I felt was one that did it relatively well. It was clear from the beginning that this family dynamic would be tested in ways most families normally aren’t. Gone Tonight makes the reader question how well we know those we call family and who they might have been before we came into their lives. Ruth has secrets and once certain things become more apparent it is clear she has to protect her daughter from forces Catherine doesn’t know exists. Catherine’s life has been far from normal, but she has never understood why. Every time she tries to figure it out her mom deflects to something else. Why? In her 20’s, Catherine wants to spread her wings and branch out from her mom’s shadow, but soon comes to find out how dangerous that could be. The discoveries made along the way helps the reader ponder the question of nature versus nurture. Would things have been different for Catherine had she learned about herself sooner? Darkness resides in all of us, but it is not only our surroundings that shape us, but the decisions we make based on the knowledge from those surroundings. I wanted to like Ruth and Catherine’s relationship, but considering how it was built I couldn’t. While I understand Ruth, I can’t give her a pass for the damage she did to Catherine which led to the events in the book. Ruth didn’t even give Catherine the chance to understand her mother and choose for herself (when she was old enough) what to do about it. The way Catherine found out about herself and the connection to her mom’s past could have been prevented if Ruth had told her the truth. The worst thing a parent can do is lie to their child about who they are (no I’m not a parent), but I feel like it would have been better for Ruth and Catherine both if they had been able to fight on the same side from the beginning. What happened to Ruth wasn’t her fault, but the choices she made after that are. While I’m sure most people would say the way she lived was punishment enough she should have had to answer for what she had done. The review so far may sound like I didn’t enjoy this book, but you would be mistaken. I liked the mystery that Catherine was trying to solve with wanting to understand her mother after being told their story might be tragically cut short. My heart went out to both characters as details were revealed to me as a reader that allowed me to have sympathy or curiosity for and about them. The line between truth and lie was tested in a way that made sense even if I didn’t necessarily agree with the method. With this type of story, the pacing is very important to keep a reader entertained and have them wanting to know more. It is a big part of what makes this type of book live up to the thrill readers might be looking for. I believe that Gone Tonight almost hit that mark. There were certain parts that did drag on, but when the action came back, I felt it was packed with a punch. I felt it was definitely a rollercoaster that was worth the read. It left the reader with the question who really the victim was because each character was victimized in different ways.

WOW! What a great book! Very suspenseful and fast paced book! It's smart storyline about how past can catch up with you...